Increased product innovation and improved collaboration between lenders and brokers mean this positive trend is set to continue. 

The Association of Short Term Lenders’ figures showed a 26% increase in the value of bridging loans written in the last quarter of 2016, compared with the previous quarter, while total lending last year reached £2.83bn, up from £2.59bn the year before.

Experts have been pleasantly surprised at the size of this increase in lending and are predicting significant rises in the near future.

At Together, we have seen significant growth in our short-term funding, lending a total of £626.4m for bridging and development finance last year – a 5.2% increase on 2015.

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Earlier this year, we introduced cross-charging on our regulated bridging products, following a successful pilot scheme and feedback from our broker partners.

Borrowers are increasingly attracted to these flexible loans (ours range from £10,000 to £1m, with a 70% LTV) because they enable homeowners to leverage equity from two properties to secure finance, with a remortgage on the new property now an accepted exit strategy, when taken out alongside the sale of the existing property. 

Proceeds of inheritance and sale of property are also accepted ways of repaying the short-term loan.

With such a positive outlook for the sector, we are currently making a host of changes to our bridging product range – including an overhaul of our bridging application process – improving the journey for our brokers and customers.